This recipe is without a doubt my tried-and-true favorite. I’ve made dozens of other pancakes over the years but they just don’t measure up to these big, puffed and tender cakes.

The only thing I’ve added to this perfect tangy ratio of butter, eggs, flour and buttermilk is a bit of wheat germ. It must be the mom in me, but somehow the extra fiber makes them seem more wholesome and less like a pile of carbs. Who am I kidding?

This time I made use of an overload of strawberries I had on hand to make a sweet sauce to pour over the stack instead of the usual maple syrup, which instantly transforms a favorite comfort food into a fresh and summery treat.

My kids ask me to make pancakes for breakfast every weekend, and I’ve been trained to mix them up in my sleep – which is what I’d rather be doing on most weekend mornings anyway.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

2. Melt the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl on high power for 30 seconds. Stir in the buttermilk, eggs and extract until smooth.

3. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients and stir just until the flour is incorporated.

4. Pour 1/4 cup scoops of batter onto a greased, heated griddle set over medium heat. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to appear on top, after about 3 minutes. Cook the other side until golden brown.

Way back in the ‘80’s my favorite meal was a roast beef sandwich on a toasted “bulky” roll, which in parts of the world other than Rhode Island would be known as a Kaiser, smothered with mushrooms, piled high with salty meat and so juicy the bulky would be saturated and falling to pieces after just two bites. I’d get them at Chelo’s, a chain of local restaurants.

I’m dating myself here, but that was a quarter of a century ago. I was in high school, my hair was big, and if you’d offered me a pizza with goat cheese on it I know I would’ve looked at you funny.

At the same time, Wolfgang Puck was in Hollywood creating California cuisine – pulling pizzas out of wood-burning ovens and serving salads as entrees at his legendary restaurant Spago.

Look how we’ve grown up! I now love goat cheese, Wolfgang Puck has become as much a brand name as Chef Boyardee, and you can walk into your local mini-mart, grab a frozen Wolfgang Puck pizza, microwave it and eat it in the car (I’m not saying that’s a good thing).